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Cerebral PET with florbetapir compared with neuropathology at autopsy for detection of neuritic amyloid-β plaques: a prospective cohort study
Clark CM, Pontecorvo MJ, Beach TG, Bedell BJ, Coleman RE, Doraiswamy PM, Fleisher AS, Reiman EM et al.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2012-06-28
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background Results of previous studies have shown associations between PET imaging of amyloid plaques and amyloid-β pathology measured at autopsy. For one of the primary analyses, the interpretation of the florbetapir scans (majority interpretation of five nuclear medicine physicians, who classified each scan as amyloid positive or amyloid negative) was compared with amyloid pathology (assessed according to the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease standards, and classed as amyloid positive for moderate or frequent plaques or amyloid negative for no or sparse plaques); correlation of the image analysis results with amyloid burden was tested as a coprimary endpoint. Amyloid assessed semiquantitatively with florbetapir PET was correlated with the post-mortem amyloid burden in the participants who had an autopsy within 2 years (Spearman ρ=0·76; p Interpretation The results of this study validate the binary visual reading method approved in the USA for clinical use with florbetapir and suggest that florbetapir could be used to distinguish individuals with no or sparse amyloid plaques from those with moderate to frequent plaques.
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APA 7th
Clark, C. M., Pontecorvo, M. J., Beach, T. G., Bedell, B. J., Coleman, R. E., Doraiswamy, P. M., et al. (2012). Cerebral PET with florbetapir compared with neuropathology at autopsy for detection of neuritic amyloid-β plaques: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70142-4
Vancouver
Clark CM, Pontecorvo MJ, Beach TG, Bedell BJ, Coleman RE, Doraiswamy PM, et al. Cerebral PET with florbetapir compared with neuropathology at autopsy for detection of neuritic amyloid-β plaques: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet. Neurology. 2012. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70142-4. PMID: 22749065.
BibTeX
@article{clark2012-22749065,
author = {Clark, C. M. and Pontecorvo, M. J. and Beach, T. G. and Bedell, B. J. and Coleman, R. E. and Doraiswamy, P. M. and Fleisher, A. S. and Reiman, E. M. and others},
title = {{Cerebral PET with florbetapir compared with neuropathology at autopsy for detection of neuritic amyloid-β plaques: a prospective cohort study}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70142-4},
pmid = {22749065},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(12)70142-4}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Background Results of previous studies have shown associations between PET imaging of amyloid plaques and amyloid-β pathology measured at autopsy.
- For one of the primary analyses, the interpretation of the florbetapir scans (majority interpretation of five nuclear medicine physicians, who classified each scan as amyloid positive or amyloid negative) was compared with amyloid pathology (assessed according to the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease standards, and classed as amyloid positive for moderate or frequent plaques or amyloid negative for no or sparse plaques); correlation of the image analysis results with amyloid burden was tested as a coprimary endpoint.
- Amyloid assessed semiquantitatively with florbetapir PET was correlated with the post-mortem amyloid burden in the participants who had an autopsy within 2 years (Spearman ρ=0·76; p<0·0001) and within 12 months between imaging and autopsy (0·79; p<0·0001).
Why it matters
This study compared florbetapir amyloid PET scans with brain tissue examined after death, in participants "who had an autopsy within 2 years"; the measured amount of tracer correlated with the amount of amyloid found at autopsy (Spearman ρ 0.76). The authors say the results validate the yes/no visual reading of these scans approved for clinical use in the USA, which separates people with no or sparse amyloid plaques from those with moderate to frequent plaques. A negative read can therefore still mean sparse plaques, and the study was about detecting plaques, not about diagnosing dementia or treating it.
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Study details
- Participants59
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 60/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 59 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 851 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 53.2 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 36.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 5 / 6 | Cited by 103 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 159 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Daniel Skovronsky: h-index 49 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 8 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22749065) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 60 / 100 | — |
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